Self-acting cheese-press



UNITED dmms PATENTQFFICE.

SOLOMON w. RUGGLES,.OF rrronnune, nassiicnusn'r'rs, SMITH & AUSTIN.

ASSIGNOR 'IO RUGGLES,

SELF-ACTING CHEESE-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 11,241,. dated July 4, 1854.

To all whom it may concern i Be it known that I, SOLOMON W. RUceLns,

of vFit-chburg, in the county of Worcester within which I make to freelyslide upward and downward a rectangular frame B. The table or bed, C,upon which thecheese is laid when pressed, is supported on the lowergirt, a, of theframe, B, while the platen or follower, D, is made toslide freely upward and downward between said bed and the upper girt,b,of the frame B. To the upper side of said platen and near to its endsI respectively hinge two upright struts, 0,

each of which at its upper end carries a friction roller 0, which restsand bears against the underside of the upper girt of the mov able frame,B, as seen in the drawings. The said frame, .B,-plays between the twoupper girts, (Z, c, of the frame, A, and there is hinged or jointed toeach one of these girts and one of the struts, a connecting rod or baror rod, 6, f, as seenin the drawings.

Between the two upper girts of the stationary frame and at or near themiddle of the same, there is a Windlass, H, whose shaft extends throughand is supported in the girts and has a crank, I, fixed on one endofit.A cord, K, from the Windlass barrel is fastened to the platen so thatwhen such windlass is turned in one direction so as to wind up the cord,th platen shall be lifted. This lifting of the. platen will of courselift the struts so as to cause the connecting rods of the struts inpassing,

from near a horizontal to nearly a vertical posit-ion, the upper ends.of the struts will be drawn inward and so as to produce an elevation ofthe platen withrespect to the bed. If under such circumstances, or whenthe frame, B, is elevated to its highest position we place a cheese uponthe bed and suffer the frame, B, and cheese to fall downward together,the'action of the frame, B, on the struts and connecting rods, will besuch as to cause the struts to depart from one another and take verticalpositions and press the platen downward toward the bed and upon thecheese.

This is a self pressing cheese press.

is termed self pressing because the power applied to effect the pressureis that of the combined weight of the cheese, the bed, the platen, theframe, B, and the struts, c.

I am aware that cheese presses, wherein the power applied to effect thepressure is the weight of the cheese, the movable frame,

and apparatus connected therewith, have been before invented andpatented; one such having been patented December, A. D. 1831, by oneCrane or Grain of Hanover, in the State of New Hampshire, while anothersuch was patented by Bethuel Gillett and Lyman Allis August 26, 1851. Ido not claim either of the devices aspatented or tions. My inventionbeing an improvement on the self acting cheese-press, which has an innermovable frame, a movable platen, and a system of levers or togglejoints. Nor do I claim an arrangement of pressure levers as exhibited inthe cheese press patented on the 15th day of August, A. D. 1887, bySullivan White, such levers not only having their fulcra supported bythe top girts of the movable frame and their inferior arms workingagainst the platen or follower, but their superior arms resting andsliding againstpins or rollers applied to the stationary frame; the saidarrange ment being not only cumbersome, but atof the pressing power ormechanism as de scribed or the arrangement of the pressure tended withmuch friction in its operation, I but I I 80 described by such personsin their specificabars or strut-s, c, a, and the arms or pitmen, Intestimony whereof, I have hereunto set 6, f, and their application tothe, remainmy signature this tenth day of January, 10

ing stationarg and mogablle parts of the A. D. 1854.

press as speci ed, Where y t e press is made 7 5 to operate in manner asexplained and to SOLOMON RUGGLES' great advantage and power, and Withlittle WVitnesses:

friction, and is reduced to a very desirable DAVID H. MERRIAM,

and compact form. DUNCAN CHISHOLM.

